


The Best. Audition. Ever.

by miyeokguk



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dance, Gen, OT9 - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 02:08:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13424466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miyeokguk/pseuds/miyeokguk
Summary: Yamada, Yuto, Chinen, and Takaki are auditioning to work with guest choreographer Ohno Satoshi.  Yamada wants their audition piece to stand out, so he proposes dancing to live accompaniment.  Takaki is not so sure about this.





	The Best. Audition. Ever.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [incandescence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/incandescence/gifts).



> Hello, recipient! I hope you enjoy this arts uni AU!

 

“Guys!”  The door to Yuto and Chinen’s dorm room is propped with the heel of a lime green Nike shoe so Yamada doesn’t bother knocking.  He pushes the heavy wooden door wide with the dance bag slung over his shoulder and a poster clutched in one hand.  “You’ll never believe what I saw at--!”

“Gimme that.”  Takaki’s arm reaches around the door to snatch the poster.  

“Hey, Ryo chan.”  Chinen waves from his perch on the radiator under the window.  

“Yamada, we already heard the news.”  Takaki is smiling up at him from a chair when Yamada finally makes it in the room.  He drops his bag next to the pile of shoes in the entry and kicks off his sneakers.

“What news?”

“This news,” Takaki says, waving the poster.  “About the auditions.”

“But, how?”  Yamada thought for sure he would be the first to announce the excitement to their unit.  He went to studio for an extra barre this morning before anyone was awake.  Someone from student affairs was just putting up the first poster advertising Ohno Satoshi’s arrival as guest choreographer when he stepped out of the steamy room with his heavy bag.  Yamada grabbed one off the pile and ran.

“Don’t you check your email?”  Yuto snorts at the cup of grape yogurt he’s stirring with a spoon.  “Sugawara sensei emailed at, like, 6:00 am.”  

“I haven’t checked mine yet because I went to Yoshida sensei’s sunrise barre.  Dude, it’s barely 9:00 am!”  Yamada huffs and flops onto Chinen’s bed since both of the desk chairs are occupied by Takaki and Yuto.

“The early bird gets the worm,” Chinen says, “or in this case, the audition.”

“Relax, guys, chill.  The audition’s a week away.”  Takaki taps the date at the bottom of the poster with a pencil.

“Only a week away,” Yuto huffs.  “That’s not a lot of time to prepare, unless we’re gonna recycle something from the summer.”

“Nope.”  Yamada shakes his head.  “This is special, this opportunity.  Our audition needs to be special.  It’s not every day we get the chance to audition as a team instead of individually, so we have some advantage there, but--”

“Let the captain speak,” Yuto says, gesturing to Takaki.  Yamada swivels his head to follow Yuto’s wave.  As the only senior in the group, Takaki is the de facto leader.  Yamada and Yuto joined a year ago, replacing the graduating members of Takaki’s dance team.  Chinen only joined a few months ago, at the beginning of summer.  

“Well, Yamada’s right.  This is a special opportunity.  And since the semester is just kicking off I think we could squeeze in enough practices to put a new piece together.”  Takaki shrugs, and the plaid stripes of his red shirt wrinkle with the movement, then relax.  “What do you all think?”

Yamada holds his breath and curls his fingers into Chinen’s lumpy green comforter.  Yuto nods, Chinen hums, both agreeing.  “Yes!” Yamada cheers and bounces back to his feet.  “I have a whole list of ideas, and the best--”

“Hold up, before we brainstorm concepts we should decide on the music, don’t you think?”  

Yamada sighs and narrows his eyes at Yuto.  “You didn’t even let me say what my idea was, and it happens to be about the music.”

“Fine.”  Yuto waves in dismissal, somehow not flinging yogurt from his full spoon.  

“As I was saying,” Yamada pauses to clear his throat, “instead of setting our audition piece to pre-recorded music, what if we have live musicians?  Wouldn’t that be exciting and stand out?”  He bounces on his heels, enjoying the cushiness of his thick compression socks.  Chinen tilts his head and gives Yamada a confused look.

“I’m… ahem, I’m not so sure if that’s a good idea,” Takaki says. He runs his long fingers through his hair and raises his eyebrows.  

“Why not?”  Yamada smiles, hoping his positive feelings about this brilliant brain child of his will somehow overflow into the atmosphere of the tiny dorm room.  “What could go wrong?”

“Oh, so many things,” Yuto mutters but Yamada doesn’t bother to turn and glare at him, instead focusing all of his smiling efforts on Takaki.  

“It’s just that it’s a bit risky, anytime we have to deal with live music.  It’s another variable that could change at the last minute.”  Takaki shrugs and the little bubbles of anticipation rise even faster to the surface of Yamada’s chest in hope.  “But we could can consider it. What did you have in mind?”

“I have a whole list!”  And Yamada does.  He started mentally compiling it on the sprint over from the studio building.  “There are so many talented music majors on campus, not to mention gifted composers.  There’s so much untapped genius just waiting to be choreographed.  Just you all wait and see!”

 

******

 

“Right this way, step on in.”  Yamada holds the door open for the team members.  There’s barely enough standing room for all four of them, even though this is one of the duet practice rooms with two pianos inside.  “Hello!  Thanks so much for meeting up with our team today!”

“The pleasure is ours,” Inoo says and pats a sheaf of sheet music strewn across the top of the nearest piano.  For being a senior in piano performance, he doesn’t maintain a very classy look.  Actually, his hair is shaggy enough that he could pass for Beethoven, but instead of sticking up wildly it falls down into his eyes.  “Well, why don’t we get started and let you all hear what Yabu and I have been practicing?”  
  
“Great!”  Yamada claps his hands in anticipation.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt,” Yuto says, raising his hand like they’re in a classroom instead of a practice room, “but why are we in this cramped room instead of a dance studio?  How can we try out choreo ideas with no space to move?”

“Did you want to push two pianos across campus to the dance building?”  Yamada points to the scarred wooden upright pianos which both look like they wear more than a small elephant.  

Yuto rolls his eyes and sighs.  “Fine.  I guess we can start with listening.”

Takaki nods, smiling a bit awkwardly as if he’s not sure whether he should give a cue or let the pianists start things.  They both take seats at the respective piano benches.  Yamada sucks in a breath of anticipation, feeling the air in the room tighten with a delicious sort of tension as Yabu and Inoo’s fingers hover above the keys in preparation.  

Inoo gives a sharp nod and their hands descend at the same time.  The notes ring out quick and staccato.  Long trills of accented runs echo in counterpoint.  The sound fills up the room with bright, ringing echoes and Yamada feels his heart beat speed up to match the racing tempo.  The music from the two pianos charges forward in bursts of sound, like two hummingbirds hovering neck and neck.  The music feels so alive Yamada’s legs start twitching with the need to dance.  If only there were more space in here, he thinks to himself.

The piece is short, just under two minutes Yamada would guess.  The dance team breaks into polite applause as the duettists swivel around on their benches to face them.  

“Well?” Inoo asks, his smile expectant as he raises his brows first at Yamada, then at Takaki.  Yamada keeps holding his breath, giving Takaki the chance to speak first as the team leader.

“Well, it’s wonderful music,” Takaki says, rubbing at the back of his neck.  “But maybe it’s kind of too flashy for choreography.”

“Too flashy,” Yamada repeats in a dead tone.  He’s trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible, which is hard when he’s this excited about the audition and the awesome piece they’re going to set for it.  

“Yeah, like the music is so complex it might take away from the visuals of the dance.  Does that make sense?”  Takaki turns to smile sheepishly at Inoo and Yabu.  Yabu just shrugs.  “Do you guys happen to have some pieces that are, let’s say, simpler?  With a solid rhythm?”

Yabu shrugs again.  “Not really.  I mean, we’re working on these Rachmaninoff pieces for two pianos this term.  We have a competition and juries coming up, so it’s not the time to start practicing something else.”  

Yamada bites down on his tongue.  Takaki has a good point, something less ornamental sounding would work best as the baseline for their choreography, but it’s disappointing they won’t get to work with such talented pianists this time.  

“That’s totally understandable,” Takaki says.  “Well, thanks anyway for taking the time to play for us and offering your services.  Good luck with the competition.”

The other guys nod in agreement.  “Thank you!” Chinen says with a wave as the pianists gather up their sheet music and file out of the practice room.  

“Wait, wait!”  Yamada holds up his hand to block Yuto from following them out. “We have one more potential accompanist lined up!”  

“Hey, am I late?  Did I get the right time?”  Yamada’s friend Keito sticks his head through the open doorway and Yamada waves him in.

“Guys, this is Okamoto Keito!  Brilliant guitarist, _and_ he speaks English!”

“Shut up,” Keito whispers and nudges Yamada with his elbow before dipping into a polite bow.  “That is so not relevant to why I’m here today!”

“Anyway, brilliant guitarist!” Yamada repeats and claps Keito on the back.  “What will you play for us today?”  

“Uh, hm.”  Keito slides onto the nearest piano bench to unzip his guitar case.  “I wasn’t sure what you would want to hear.  I mostly play, you know, classical stuff.”

“Like, Styx and Queen covers?” Chinen asks.

“Not classic.  Classic _al,”_  Keito says.  “Like this.”  Closing his eyes and lifting his chin towards the ceiling to make room for the neck, which he holds almost vertically, Keito takes a deep breath and begins to play.  His fingers move rapidly over the frets.  The rhythm syncopates as staccato notes merge into a tune Yamada vaguely recognizes from a yogurt commercial. He slows down, then suddenly speeds up so much the strings on his guitar vibrate like they’re about to snap.  “That’s the Malaguena,” Keito says, stopping as suddenly as he started.  

“Dang, you’re good!”  Chinen claps his hands together and Keito breaks into a shy smile.

“Do you play anything more… modern?”  Yuto asks.  He’s also smiling a tight smile, as if he’s afraid he might offend Keito by asking for a different style of music.

“Absolutely,” Keito says, and Yuto visibly relaxes into a more genuine smile.  “How about this?”  The song he plays next is one Yamada knows, “Tears in Heaven”.  Keito mumbles the lyrics as he strums the simple chord progressions with a soulfulness that has Yamada swaying by the end of the first chorus.

No one says anything for a long moment after the song ends.  Yamada bounces on his toes, impatient for Keito to open his eyes again so they can discuss his potential as their live accompaniment.  

“Too be quite honest,” Chinen says in a bright voice, “when Yama chan said guitar music, I had in mind something more like Ozaki Yutaka san’s music.”

“Oh,” Keito says, opening his eyes a bit wider and blinking at Chinen.  “No.  That’s not really my style.  I’m more of a Clapton guy.”

“Is it just me, or did that last song sound kind of...mushy?”  Yamada turns to glare at Yuto.  “Hey, like, no offense!” Yuto says, raising his hands in defense.  “I’m just not sure it’s the sound we’re looking for.  I think we all had in mind something with more of a beat.”

They all nod in sympathy, including Keito.  “Well, if it’s not gonna cut it for what you need, that’s okay.  Thanks for inviting me though, Yamada.”  Keito smiles before slipping his guitar into his carrying case.  

“No, no.  Wait, please,” Takaki says.  Keito pauses, one hand on the zipper of his case.  “I think,” Takaki starts to explain, pausing for a sigh, “that this could work out.  I mean the theme of the spring dance concert is ‘tender love’, and it’s going to be in February.  So maybe something more...um, romantic would work this time.  What do you guys think?”

Yuto shrugs, but nods when Chinen does.  Yamada gives Takaki a thumbs up.  

“Wow, okay then.”  Keito laughs as if surprised as he finishes zipping his bag.  “Wait, did you want to hear more Clapton songs, or is “Tears in Heaven” okay?”  

“That’s...fine.”  Takaki sighs and waves off Keito’s offer for more songs.  “It’s a song I can find on YouTube, right?  I’ll start marking stuff tonight in the studio.  Are you available tomorrow night for rehearsal, Keito kun?  The audition is next week so we need to set this piece right away.”

“Sweet!  I can be there tomorrow night.”  Keito nods, still smiling as he shoulders his guitar bag.  “And of course, the song is on YouTube.  I can send you a link?” he asks Yamada, his hand already on the door.  

“Great!  Thanks so much, Keito!”  Yamada shoves him out the door with a friendly wave.  “See guys,” he whispers once his guitar major friend is out of hearing distance, “I’m a genius.  Our pieces is gonna be so unique, and -- and --!”

“And mushy.”  Yuto rolls his eyes, but Takaki laughs at him and that makes Yamada beam.  He is so excited for this audition now, he can hardly wait until tomorrow to start learning the choreography from Takaki.  

 

*****

 

“Ow!”  Yuto swears under his breath as Chinen trips over his ankle and somersaults to a stop.  “Can you watch where you’re--!”  Keito breaks off playing a very jazzy improvisation of “Tears in Heaven” and Takaki bends over to pant for breath.

"It’s not his fault, Yuto.”  Yamada pats his friend on the back as he rubs at his ankle.  “It’s just hard to count this music, isn’t it?  Is your ankle okay?”

Yuto straightens up, shrugging Yamada’s hand off of his back.  “It’s fine, it’s fine.  Just-- let’s take it from the top again, I guess.”  They glance over to Takaki, then to Keito.

“Uh, Keito kun?”  Takaki raises his hand as if they’re in a lecture hall, not a rehearsal he’s directing.  “Could you try to keep a steady rhythm?  It would be better if you can play consistently.  Like, the same way every time.  Otherwise it’s hard to practice the choreo we set this morning.”

“Sorry!  I’ll try my best.”  Keito nods and jitters his foot against the rung of the stool he’s perched on against the mirror panel nearest the door to the studio.  “From the top?”

“Sure, thanks.”  Takaki waves again, motioning for his dancers to take their places.  Yamada crouches into his starting position.  He feels like a seed about to blossom into light, hunched over his knees and forehead pressed to the sticky vinyl floor.  

The dance is turning out brilliantly, Takaki’s choreography creative and liquid and just -- there’s something really special about this piece, and Yamada’s even more excited about this audition opportunity than ever.  

They finally break for a late lunch at 2:00, Keito excusing himself from Takaki’s invitation to join them in the dining hall.  They’re all sweating, even Keito who was only sitting down during rehearsal.  Yamada is ready for a quick shower in the locker room and then a very, very large bowl of curry rice.  

“Well, the piece is shaping out well, don’t you guys think?”  Yamada holds the door open for the dance team members as they shuffle into the much cooler hallway.  

“This friend of yours, this guitar one,” Chinen huffs as throws his arm over Yamada’s shoulder, “can’t play so well, can he?”  

“Nonsense, guitar is his major!”  Yamada can feel his shoulders tensing up under the deadweight of Chinen’s arm.  “He doesn’t play like a robot because he’s an _artist.”_

“Yeah…”  Takaki runs his hands through his hair as the rest of them follow him down the hall.  “He’s a very soulful player.  He gets music.  Like, really gets it.”  

“Mm hm!”  Yamada hums in agreement.

“And by the end of rehearsal today he managed to keep the rhythm consistent.  It’s just the harmonies and stuff he keeps improvising.  I think we’ll be fine if we count all the formations and don’t rely to heavily on the musical cues in the phrasing.”

“I guess…”  Chinen sighs again, but not even Yuto has complaints this time, to Yamada’s surprise.  

“It’ll be worth it when we blow Ohno sensei’s mind with our fabulous, totally unique audition!”  Yamada is convinced they can beat out their competition as team, even the renowned talent of seniors like Kamenashi senpai and Koharu senpai.  He just knows they’re going to get a call back for this.  

 

*****

 

Yamada’s feeling a bit more intimidated by their competition on the day of the audition.  His stomach is jumpy and tight, and he can hardly sit still in the theater seating below the auditorium stage as they wait for their turn to dance for the esteemed Ohno Satoshi.  

“Can you stop fidgeting so much,” Yuto hisses.  He presses his hand onto Yamada’s knee, probably trying to get him to stop bouncing his legs against the metal backs of the empty chairs in front of them.  The auditorium in the dance building isn’t the biggest stage on campus, but it has enough seating for the auditionees to spread out in the rows of fold-up chairs.  

“Sorry,” Yamada whispers back, but his reply gets lost in the blast of sound from the speakers as Koharu, the best freestyle dancer in the whole department, undulates out of the wings.  Her music is recorded, some high pitched synth whining above a steady, irresistible baseline.  

The music is more experimental than anyone else in the department would probably have gone with, but it’s very Koharu senpai.  Her movements are refreshingly free like she’s holding nothing back, yet so controlled and precise Yamada can tell every flick of her wrist and roll of her spine is carefully planned and refined.  

The professors on the front row, one on either side of Ohno sensei’s red hair and broad shoulders outlined in black leather, break into enthusiastic applause when Koharu bows and saunters off into the wings.  Yamada slots his fingers into his mouth to whistle, short and shrill, and he grins when he sees Koharu dissolve into laughter before she disappears backstage.  

Yamada jumps when his phone buzzes in his pocket.  He fishes it out to check the notifications, ignoring Takaki’s warning glare when he sees the message is from Keito.

>>Hey man, super sorry but I can’t come today :(((

>>I have the death flu and can’t even sit up

>>sorry!!!

“Shit,” Yamada hisses.

“Yeah, no joke, she’s so good,” Chinen groans.

“No, I mean actually, we’re screwed.”  Yamada moans into the sleeve of his hoodie.  He leans across Chinen to show the message screen to Takaki.

Takaki looks up at Yamada after scanning the screen and just blinks.  

“Lemme see.”  Yuto snatches the phone and thumbs through the short trail of messages before handing it back to Yamada with a shake of his head.  “I knew live music was a rotten idea!” he whispers, his voice hissing violently behind his cupped hand.  “I just knew it.”

Yamada grabs his phone back and types a quick, “don’t worry!!  feel better soon!!” to his friend.  Then he hastily scrolls back through his contacts to text Hikaru, his other instrumental performance major friend.

“Well, I guess we could dance to the YouTube recording of “Tears in Heaven”?” Chinen suggests.  He looks as calm as ever, but Yamada notices the quiver in Chinen’s lip as he types “red alert!  mayday!” to Hikaru.

>>What’s up?

Hikaru replies right away and Yamada feels his heartbeat surge in triumph as he types out his request.

>>np, can be there asap!

>>in like, 15 mins

“Yes!” Yamada says as loudly as he dares, fist pumping.  “Don’t worry guys, my senpai Hikaru is on his way to the rescue!  I mean, our rescue.”

Takaki glances up, his eyes widening in interest.  “Hikaru as in the shamisen player?  That really loud guy who won the traditional instruments award last spring?”

Yamada nods several times in reply, the music once again too loud for his voice to be heard as the next senior starts his audition.  Usually Yamada hates having to wait until nearly the end to audition, since he’s still only a sophomore, but this time he’s grateful.  They’re halfway down on the time slots sheet, which should give Hikaru just enough time to arrive with his instrument.  

“Damn, he’s so good too,” Chinen says in Yamada’s ear.  Yamada looks up from his phone screen to see Kamenashi senpai execute a perfect triple pirouette and start immediately into a round of fouette turns.  His control is impeccable, which is why his ballet technique is so refined, but he finishes his audition piece with an energetic series of stag leaps and balanced freezes with only one shoulder on the ground to show off his modern training and upper body strength.

“Show off,” Yuto says with a shake of his head.  Yamada nods, still in awe of the senior’s physical feats, even if his combinations hadn’t been the most artistic.  Ohno sensei will be setting the performance piece anyway, so this audition isn’t about choreography skills when it comes down to it.  

The professors also applaud loud and long for Kamenashi, and he takes a low bow before bounding down the steps on stage right and into the audience.  He’s beaming, a smug grin wrapped around his handsome features, and Yamada only hopes their team is smiling as big once they finish.  Yamada is confident in their teamwork, he really is, but watching so many talented performers go before them is wearing down his self assuredness.  

He’s thankful for the distraction when Hikaru texts him again, notifying Yamada of his arrival at the auditorium.  The whole team sneaks around to the back and slips out into the lobby to find Hikaru.

“Hey, Ryo chan!”  Hikaru greets him by ruffling Yamada’s hair, then bows to the others.  “Nice to meet you officially!  Yaotome Hikaru at your service.”  He bows, the shamisen case strapped to his bag sliding forward on his shoulders a bit.  The instrument looks heavy, and not for the first time Yamada feels grateful that all he has to tote around campus is extra pairs of ballet and jazz shoes and his oversized water bottle, along with all the stray socks and warm up clothes jammed in his dance bag.  

“Thanks so much for agreeing to play for us last minute.”  Takaki matches his bow, staying low a few seconds longer than usual.

“Yeah, sure.  Happy to help, but um, what’s the plan?”  Hikaru slips out of the straps of the carrying case and leans his instrument against the wall.  

“Do you happen to know a song called, “Tears in Heaven”?” Yuto asks.

“Sure!  I’ve played it before, actually.  But it’s not a professional arrangement, just me messing around with some friends at jam sessions, you know.”  Hikaru laughs, then shrugs.  

“Do you happen to know this guitar guy called Okamoto Keito?” Chinen asks, narrowing his eyes at Hikaru as if in suspicion.  

“Yes,” Hikaru says, drawing out the word in a questioning tone.

“Never mind, never mind about that,” Takaki cuts in, elbowing Chinen out of the way.  “Let’s just get this settled because we’re up soon.  Hikaru san, if we show you the tempo we’ve practicing the piece at, do you think you can match us?”

“Sure!”  Hikaru nods and gives him double thumbs up.  

They end up marking the one minute piece in the empty lobby, Takaki humming the tune just loudly enough to be heard over the music from the auditorium, while Hikaru claps out the rhythm to get the hang of it.  

They sneak back into their seats just before Yamashita senpai, a junior, starts up a sick locking routine.  “We’re up next,” Takaki leans across the row to whisper.  Yamada nods, having trouble keeping his knees from bouncing again as his nervousness gets taken over by the adrenaline rush he always gets anticipating the bright stage lights on his face.  He loves that hush right before the music starts, when everything is still and he can feel every joint and muscle in his body ready to move.

It feels like a dream, walking up onto the stage, waiting for Hikaru to kneel in front of his shamisen with a mic bent to the sound board.  Ohno sensei, the legendary choreographer who just flew back from New York, smiles up at the stage and adjusts his black framed glasses.  That’s the last thing Yamada sees before he crouches down into seed position and closes his eyes to wait for the music.

Hikaru doesn’t play “Tears in Heaven” exactly the same way Keito did in rehearsal.  He accents the phrasing a bit differently, but the rhythm is steady and familiar, grounding Yamada’s movements as he breathes into his first lunge and exhales before he holds onto Chinen’s torso for the first lift.  Actually, the way Hikaru plays is almost easier to follow.  The melody is clear, notes threaded together both clear and wavering, and the sound of his confident plucking fills with auditorium with the help of the microphone.  

Yamada straightens up to bow with the team, surprised to see Ohno sensei join in on the professors’ applause.  “Wait, just a moment please!”  He holds up a hand and Yamada freezes with one leg raised, stunned that the world famous choreographer deigned to speak to them.

“Interesting choices, auditioning as a group for one, and having live accompaniment for another.”  Ohno pushes up his glasses on the bridge of his nose and then waves at Hikaru, who is packing up his instrument.  “You.  Shamisen dude.  Do you happen to rap?”

The room is silent for a moment, and Yamada drops his foot to the ground in shock.

"Uh, yes?”  Hikaru sounds just as shocked, if the squeak in his voice is any indication.  “Yes, sir!”

“Hm, I think I’ve seen your YouTube channel.  Could you stick around to speak to me after the auditions?”  Ohno breaks into a relieved smile when Hikaru nods his consent.  “Great!  And great audition, guys.”

 

*****

 

“What-- what just happened?”  Chinen wobbles, leaning against the wall of the lobby once they make it out of the dark auditorium.  He looks like he might pass out from fatigue or relief or continued nerves.  Yamada sidles closer so Chinen has someone to lean on.

“I don’t know, but I’m guessing that went well?”  Takaki smiles at the team members, then turns to Hikaru with another bow of thanks.  “And it sounds like you just got a gig with Ohno sensei!”

“Uh, either that or he wants to humiliate me in public about my awkward freestyle rapping.”  Hikaru giggles, then buries his face in his hands.

“See?  I _knew_  this was such a great idea!”  Yamada bounces, relieved that now they’re in the lobby Yuto can’t get mad at him anymore for shaking the seats.

“It was, and then it wasn’t, and then it was again,” Yuto reminds him with a heavy sigh.

“But all’s well that ends well, right?”  Chinen pats Yamaha in the shoulder.  

Yamada grins when Takaki agrees with a firm, “Right!”

“Do you want us to stick around to the end?” Yamada turns to Hikaru to ask.  “You know, til you talk to Ohno sensei?”

“Ew, no!”  Hikaru shoves Yamada away to arm’s length.  “You need to get out of here and shower!”

“Let us know how it goes?”  

“Absolutely.”  Hikaru grins, his eyes lit up, and Yamada can tell he’s excited, too.

Yamada bounces all the way to the locker room and then back to the dorm.  Even Yuto’s sighs and Chinen’s absent humming can’t detract from his elation, not when they’ve practically made audition history today.

 

*****

 

It’s not hard to find the cast list posted in the student lounge when Yamada makes it into the dance building on Monday.  At least 12 or 15 people are crowded in front of the printed list of names and piece titles, including the ones Ohno sensei is going to set for the spring concert.  Yamada strains onto tiptoe but it’s no use.  Some people are just too tall.  He would shove his way through the crowd to take a look but there are several seniors in the ring of bodies closest to the list.  

“Is that it?”  Yamada jumps.  He didn’t hear Chinen come up behind him until his friend’s hand clamped down on his shoulder.

“Hey,” Takaki says, strolling up on Yamada’s left with Yuto in tow.  “Did you get a look yet?”

“No…”  Yamada gestures at at the throng in front of them.

“Hey wait,” Yuto says.  “Check out Koharu senpai’s instagram.”  

The rest of the team fumbles for their phones.  Koharu’s latest post is a pic of the cast list, no comment or caption except for several exclamation points.  Yamada scans down the list, his heartbeat thumping in his dry throat.  She’s been cast in a duet with Kamenashi senpai, which kinda makes sense why Ohno sensei would see them working well together.  They’re both brilliant dancers and Koharu’s power and freedom will complement Kamenashi’s perfect technique and sharp lined charisma on stage.

Several of their classmates are cast in pieces with Yoshida sensei and Sugawara sensei listed as choreographers.  Yamada almost stops breathing when he reads his name, along with Takaki, Yuto, and Chinen’s, near the bottom of the list.  With Ohno sensei printed next to them.  Because Ohno sensei, world famous choreographer, actually liked their team audition enough to want to work with the four of them.  

“Damn,” Chinen says, then starts choking on a cough.

“I’ll say,” Takaki grunts, turning to clap Yamada and Chinen on the back.  “Good work, team!  We should probably thank our accompanist again too, huh?”

“Lemme call him!”  Yamada dials Hikaru.  He’s barely able to catch his breath again from the excitement before his friend answers on the second ring.

“Hey!  Is the cast list for the dance concert up yet?” Hikaru blurts in lieu of a greeting.

“Yeah?  We--”

“Awesome!  So you know the news by now?  That you all got cast?”  Hikaru sounds even more excited than Chinen and Yamada put together, which Yamada would find hilarious except that it’s Hikaru and Hikaru almost always sounds excited about something or other.  

“Yes!  So we just wanted to thank you for--”

“No!  Allow me to thank you!”  Hikaru laughs, and Yamada knows he is definitely excited.  “I knew since right after the auditions, but Ohno sensei made me swear not to tell anyone til the cast list was up but--”  Hikaru pauses for breath, and now Yamada is so excited about what he’s guessing Hikaru is about to say that he can’t breathe again.  

“But??”

“But!  He asked me right after the auditions if I would do the live music for the piece he cast your team for!  Ryo chan, get this!  I get to perform my original composition on shamisen while rapping, and Daiki is gonna be my backup singer and beatboxer!  How cool is that?”  

“Very, very cool!”  Yamada would give Hikaru a double thumbs up if he could see him right now.  

“Anyway, we’ll all talk soon about rehearsal times and all that, but ahhhh!  I’m so glad you know now, it almost killed me having to keep a secret that long!”

“Two days,” Yamada says in his faux annoyed voice.  “You only had to keep it for two days, but thanks for not ruining the surprise or whatever.”

“Ok!  Text me, let’s have dinner tomorrow.  Ciao!”  Yamada pockets his phone and turns around to grab Chinen’s elbow in his excitement.

“Guys!  Guess what Hi--”  He stops short, the sentence dying in his throat, when he sees that Kamenashi senpai has approached their circle and is smiling a friendly, if somewhat still smug, smile right at Yamada.  

“Hey, I just wanted to congratulate you guys.  You did an awesome audition performance.”

“Ah… you too!”  Yamada says, and Takaki nods along.  “You were awesome too.”

“Oh, thanks.”  Kamenashi gives a little shrug with his right shoulder, flipping his shoulder length hair out of his eyes.  “It’s really a compliment to your hard work and talent that you got cast to work with Ohno sensei, and none of you are even seniors.  I guess I’ll see you around at rehearsals, good luck.”  He turns and walks away, the chains dangling from his belt loops jingling.  

“Damn,” Chinen says again, his eyes wide and looking very star struck.  “This day keeps getting more and more surreal.”

“That’s it,” Yuto declares in his most no-nonsense voice, already turning Chinen by the shoulders to march him towards the double doors of the front exit.  “We are going out for katsudon to celebrate.  Right now.”

“Does that mean I get stuck paying again?”  Takaki groans, although he starts to trail after Yuto obediently.  

“Of course, Captain!”  Yamada grins and wraps his arm around Takaki’s shoulder.  “But don’t complain.  We just made audition history!”

  


**Author's Note:**

> Notes:
> 
> 1\. I'm sorry, I actually know very little about being a music major. But shamisen performance sounds like a wicked cool major to me. 
> 
> 2\. The music pieces mentioned in the story are [Malaguena](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B6jOUzBKYc) and [Tears in Heaven](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSbqm7ZK_9s)
> 
> 3\. Ozaki Yutaka, who was briefly mentioned, is THE original jrock star and a fabulous performer dude, [check it out, yo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChBlNFc5YfY)


End file.
